The 2023 financial year has seen the Thai baht rank as one of the region’s poorest performing currencies, depreciating to a low of 37.14 to the US dollar on Tuesday – a level not seen since November of the previous year.
The recent plummet in gold prices, with a decline of around 5% or US$7.45 (274.65 baht) per ounce, has prompted increased demand for dollars for gold purchases, further weakening the Thai currency.
Year-to-date, the baht has lost nearly 6.8% of its value, falling from its end-of-year position of 34.61 baht against the US dollar. This places the Thai currency as the third-worst performer this year, preceded only by the yen and Korean won, which have weakened by 12% and 7.7% respectively.
The Malaysian ringgit has also seen a similar depreciation trend to the baht, falling approximately 6.8%.
Kanjana Chockpisansin, head of…
